title: Hearing preservation with full insertion of the FLEXsoft electrode.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hearing preservation (HP) in the context of cochlear implantation (CI) is indicative of an atraumatic insertion, which could potentially offer a clinical advantage to performance, whether such preservation was intended for the application of electoacoustic stimulation (EAS). Our goal was to determine the degree of HP after the implantation of a full-length electrode array (MedEl FLEXsoft).
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective, within-subject repeated measure design.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adult patients with residual low-frequency hearing who received a 31.5-mm FlexSoft electrode array were included. Implantation using soft surgery techniques occurred at a single tertiary referral center between 2008 and 2011. Preoperative and postoperative audiometric data were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 36 consecutive patients at 1 year postimplantation, 6 (21%) maintained complete HP (an increase of low-frequency pure-tone average (PTA) ≤10 dB from the preoperative value), and 19 (65%) maintained partial HP (an increase in low-frequency PTA ≤40 dB from the preoperative values) throughout the follow-up period (average, 368 d). Higher preoperative hearing threshold levels (HTLs) at 1,000 Hz were associated with HP.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Low-frequency HP is possible in patients implanted with the full-length FlexSoft electrode. Longer follow-up is required to determine if results are maintained over time and if such preservation is in fact advantageous to clinical outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  4.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mick
authors.forename: Hosam
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Amoodi
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shipp
authors.forename: Lendra
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Friesen
authors.forename: Sean
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Symons
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nedzelski
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000502:physiology*; D019929:Cochlear Implantation / Q000379:methods*; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D005260:Female; D006309:Hearing / Q000502:physiology*; D006320:Hearing Tests; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011184:Postoperative Period; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome